The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Group at the United Nations in New York convened at the Ambassadorial level on 19 May 2020 under the Chair of the United Arab Emirates to address, inter alia, the grave situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, as a result of the illegal policies and measures of Israel, the occupying Power, in flagrant violation of international law, the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations—including the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force—and the relevant United Nations resolutions, including Security Council resolution2334 (2016).

The OIC Group reaffirmed OIC resolutions on Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif adopted by successive regular and extraordinary Islamic Summits and Ministerial Meetings. It also reaffirmed the centrality of the Question of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif to the Muslim Ummah, and its principled and unwavering support and solidarity with the Palestinian people and leadership. The OIC Group called on the international community to shoulder their responsibilities and take urgent action.

The OIC Group denounced all violations of international law perpetrated by Israel in the Palestinian land and against the Palestinian people, including grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and called for these violations to immediately and completely cease.

The OIC Group deplored the continued occupation and perpetration of violations by the occupying Power in contravention of international law and in contempt of repeated demands for cessation by the international community, including the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council.

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The OIC Group further deplored that, as countries face immense additional challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and that have prompted the UN Secretary-General to call for a global ceasefire, Israel exploits this global crisis to further advance its illegal colonization and to deepen the oppression of the Palestinian people in violation of their inalienable human rights, including to self-determination and to return.

The OIC Group strongly condemned and unequivocally rejected Israel’s plans concerning the annexation of Palestinian territory in the West Bank and called for the immediate and complete halt to all such illegal actions, including the confiscation of Palestinian land, the construction of settlements and the wall, the demolition of Palestinian homes and properties, and the forced displacement of Palestinian civilians.

The OIC Group warned that the implementation of these illegal, unilateral plans will undermine the efforts made by the international community towards achieving a two-State solution on the pre-1967 borders and the prospects for realizing a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace, and they will have grave consequences for the stability and security of the region and beyond.

The OIC Group reiterated its demands that Israel, as the occupying Power, fully respect all of its obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, the UN Charter, and the relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions. In this regard, the OIC Group stressed the urgent need for the international community to hold Israel accountable for its actions to ensure that Israel respects its obligations.

The OIC Group recalled, in this regard, Security Council resolutions 2334 (2016) and 478 (1980), the resolutions of the General Assembly in its regular and emergency special sessions regarding the Question of Palestine, the relevant resolutions of the Human Rights Council, and the Wall Advisory Opinion rendered in 2004 by the International Court of Justice.

The OIC Group called on all States not to recognize the illegal situation resulting from the occupation by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and not to render any aid or assistance to illegal settlement activities. The OIC Group called on States to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem; to halt all commercial activities with illegal Israeli settlements; and to impose a ban on settlement products, among other measures, in line with international norms and rules, including relevant UN resolutions.

The OIC Group called on the international community to engage in serious efforts to halt Israel’s plans concerning the illegal annexation and to salvage the prospects for realizing the rights of the Palestinian people, including to self-determination and independence; the twoState solution on the pre-1967 borders; and a just and lasting peace in accordance with the longstanding international consensus and based on international law, the relevant UN resolutions, the Madrid principles, and the Arab Peace Initiative.

The OIC Group specifically called on the Security Council to uphold its duties under the UN Charter and to address Israel’s plans of annexation, which undermine opportunities for peace, and contradicts all efforts made by the international community to reach a lasting political solution in accordance with relevant international resolutions.

The OIC Group reaffirmed that peace and security in the Middle East region and a just, lasting, and comprehensive solution can only be achieved by bringing an end to the illegal Israeli Occupation of the State of Palestine, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and of the other Arab territories occupied since June 1967.

The OIC Group called for all efforts necessary to bring an end to this illegal occupation and to assist the Palestinian people in achieving their inalienable rights, including the right to exercise self-determination and to live security, dignity and peace in a sovereign and independent State of Palestine, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, and a just solution for the Palestine refugees, on the basis of international law, all relevant UN resolutions, and the Arab Peace Initiative, endorsed by the Extraordinary Islamic Summit in Mecca in 2005.